Pulse
by happycemetery
Summary: Tony didn't flip the switch in motion that turned this poor kid's life on its head. He didn't start the trauma or fear or anger; but Tony did finish it, regardless of it being an accident. Tony was to blame for what was happening now, and he had to fix it. He had to. ...Or how Iron Man became Iron Dad.
1. Prologue: The Video

**Prologue: The Video**

* * *

It looked like the inside of a warehouse. Completely painted over white and clean. Twenty hospital beds were lined up against the long stark wall. Seventeen of them occupied by men and women in thin hospital gowns. None of them looked any older than their mid-twenties, and there even appeared to be a couple of teenagers. Most had cuts and bruises on their faces and limbs. They were all strapped down, dark thick collars around their necks, and each hooked up to at least four different I.V. bags. They were conscious, but obviously sedated.

Tony Stark's jaw tightened as he watched the video playing on the holoscreen intercepted by S.H.I.E.L.D. The whole scene looked ominous, and Tony was only thirty seconds into it. Of course he knew whatever was on this video wasn't going to be good with S.H.I.E.L.D. coming to him for help to track its location of origin. Tony already had his systems on it at their request, and now he was getting the firsthand look as to why their request for aid was so urgent.

The video cut to two "patients" now each inside an upright open cylinder containment pod, locked in by metal clamps around their necks, waists, wrists, and ankles. Watched as a man in a lab coat —face covered with a white surgical mask— jabbed their arms with a needle and injected them with an unknown pink drug. Instantly they were brought out of their sedation. They were alert and struggled and screamed. The glass fronts of the pods closed, cutting off the sounds of their yelled begging. And then the pods were suddenly filled with fire —orange and yellow and angry— swirling inside the pods like small cyclones. It went on for precisely forty-five agonizing seconds, then the fires were out. All that was left of the man in the right pod were unrecognizable charged remains. The woman in the left pod, however, her form endured. She breathed heavily, terrified, and once again a fire started. But this time it originated from her body. Her whole self engulf in radiating flames, her skin unharmed.

A clapping of applause was heard off camera, followed by a voice. "Serum test Lambda Beta on Male Subject 0027: Failure. Serum test Lambda Beta on female Subject 0018: Success. This is the second trial of male failure and female success. Third trial will be slated to conclude serum correlation with sex. Success subject will be primed and ready for shipping within two weeks. Next, Serum Lambda Delta should prove promising results to..."

"I've seen enough," Tony swiped the video off the screen. His insides felt sick from what he just witnessed. He focused his gaze then on Maria Hill's picture on the teleconference.

"We got a hit running a still of the woman through facial recognition," Maria spoke. "Her name's Melanie Michaels. Just a humdrum civilian from Columbus, Ohio. No criminal record. She was reported missing by her landlord two months ago. I think abduction is safe to assume here, along with every other shackled person in that video. I'm sending you all our other intel as we speak," Maria went on. "What we can gather is, is this... _testing_ is being done for sale. They're making human weapons, Stark. It's looking more like they're trying to create a variety and not just an army of 'Human Torches'."

"So this is some sick Weapon X revival? A copy-cat venture?"

"Short answer we don't know either way, but-"

" _Location secured._ " Jarvis interrupted.

"I don't think it matters either way." Tony's eyes peered decisively at the marker on the projected map. "We're shutting them down. You came to me for help so I'm taking the lead on this, no question —especially with this is happening in my own back yard. Have a team ready to depart in five. We're going to New Jersey."


	2. Off Target

**Chapter One: Off Target**

Blasting through the doors of the "Millhart Shipping Inc." warehouse was easy enough. Sure it was a front company, but technically they were still shipping. The cargo just happened to be abducted people genetically turned into weapons.

"Becket, have your team sweep the east section," Tony commanded the lead S.H.I.E.L.D. officer from within his Iron Man suit. "Safe guard victims, and as for any hostiles...use non-lethal force unless absolutely necessary."

"Rodger, sir!"

"The rest of you fine gentlemen and ladies, follow me!"

The rent-a-cop security guards that were encountered surrendered without a fight. Tony didn't have to lift a finger. A mission with no action was the best thing anyone could hope for. No fighting. Just a round up of the baddies and a careful evacuation of the innocent victims. But of course just when you think things are going easy, is when things start to turn bad. Iron Man and his S.H.I.E.L.D. team's sweep of the building's west side got interrupted by a swarm of people in black and gold tactical armor. They stood in two lines as a barrier between Tony's team and a set of ominous double doors a few feet from them.

"Looks like they just gave away where the precious cargo is." Tony remarked. He then made his voice boom to their opposition. "Stand down and no one needs to get hurt. We have an executive order by S.H.I.E.L.D. to search the premises, and anyone who-"

Suddenly three out of the fifteen of the beefed up security guarding the door suddenly burst into flames. Flames that glued to their frame and radiated, but didn't burn them. And that's when Tony really noticed the thick black metal collars around all of their necks, close to what those poor people in the video wore, if not the same.

"No one makes a move unless I say," Tony ordered. He brought his attention to Jarvis. "Tell me what we've got here," his tech scanning the neck devices. "Please say we're not dealing with the mad scientist 'obey me or die' shock collar."

 _"If you want it described as the dumbed down version. Then yes, that is exactly what we have here, sir."_ Jarvis piped in.

 _Shit_ , Tony thought to himself. "Run an algorithm to disrupt the frequency."

"These are victims, people!" Tony told his men. "I need to get through those doors. Keep them subdued or engaged. Do not kill. I repeat, do NOT kill."

Tony took the first step forward and with it the clash began. These second rate 'Human Torches' weren't very strong and couldn't blast out fire or fly, but the wild heat coming off them made them impossible to contain. Other victims revealed to have super strength, and others still sparked with electricity. It was a delicate dance of beating them down, but not actually knocking the tar out of these people. They were victims after all, being used against their will.

Two of the Torches had been extinguished, four of those 'Electric dudes' seemingly short-circuited, but all the ones with the super strength were still standing, proving to be the most difficult. S.H.I.E.L.D. officers were being tossed into walls like rag dolls, but they faught back as _kindly_ as they could with stun guns or non-lethal shots to the controlled victims' limbs. The chaotic battle was happening fast, but still dragging on too long for Tony's liking. He needed to get through those doors. Something important was obviously inside. He grabbed around the arm of the last Torch woman still burning and standing in his way, and guiltily flung her down the hall.

"Hot hot hot..." he muttered, shaking his heated hand as he wasted no time flying forward and using his armor to batter through the doors.

It was the vast room from the video. White, crisp, haunting. There was the long row of beds with now only three being occupied. Not a good sign, but even worse was seeing one of the open containment pods holding a teen boy. He was limp and pale and disheveled and didn't look much older than fifteen or sixteen. There were three men in lab coats and masks surrounding him, one holding a recording device.

"Quickly!" The one holding the recorder shouted. "Finish the procedure!"

The teen was injected with a bright blue serum before Tony could do anything. The kid's sluggish form went tense, his head shooting up and his eyes opening wide. If Tony learned anything from the intercepted video, then the even worse part was about to happen next. The kid might end up burned alive or some other horror. Tony couldn't let the pod door slide down shut. He aimed his hand at the top of the pod and fired a repulsor blast. It should have been a clean hit. The door should have been blasted to pieces, and whatever genetic transformation these sickos in white planned for the kid should have been thwarted.

All of that...sort of happen.

At the same time of the repulsor blast firing, one of the super strength victims from out in the hallway had barrelled in and collided into Tony's back. The shot missed the door and instead hit the teen boy square in the chest. The kid scream out, loud and in anguish, and the whole pod toppled backward with a crash.

Well, it wasn't exactly a clean shot, but the door was in pieces, and the planned gene mangling was stopped...but what damage had Tony done to the innocent kid?

The room erupted into more chaos. The men in lab coats making a run for it, the fight from the hallway spilling in, and Tony being pinned down by more of the super strength victims. He struggled underneath them, hoping it wouldn't have to come to him using his blasts at such close range. They were still innocent people, and he didn't want to have to hurt them any more than he had too.

"We have the East section secured, sir." Officer Becket's voice sounded on Tony's comm.

"Great," Tony spoke strained through gritted teeth. His armor was starting to get dented. "Send all your available men to..."

Tony's call for back up trailed off. The pressure on his suit left. He moved to his feet swiftly on high alert only to see the controlled victims backed off and were now ripping off their helmets. Some raised their hands up in a scared surrender.

"Please." One man spoke up. "W-we didn't want to do this. Please help us."

 _"The collar devices are now offline."_ Jarvis declared.

"Everybody stand down!" Tony ordered.

It was more quick orders and a call for the paramedic team, and then Tony shot over to the fallen pod. His heart wasn't going to be able to take it if the kid wasn't alright, or at the very least, still breathing.

The pod was empty.


	3. Bang Boom

**Chapter Two: Bang Boom**

Iron Man had been seen flying low over northeastern New Jersey for the past three hours. There were mostly cheers from the citizens below, but the unusual warm Jersey welcome was deaf on Tony's ears. He lost count on how many times he zigzagged and circled through Newark and the surrounding towns. Trying to find that boy from the busted up human-weapon trafficking ring had pretty much been hopeless two hours ago, but Tony persisted. He felt responsible. He was responsible. Maybe somehow the kid had made it out of that building on his own, but there was the other more likely option. One of the three scientists had made it out too; that sicko had to have taken the kid.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had called off their search after only thirty minutes in. Their main objective had been achieved in taking down the illegal facility, and now it moved on to finding the buyers. So until more intel presented itself where it deemed S.H.I.E.L.D. should once again intervene, local law enforcement was left with the John Doe missing teen case. But for Tony the main objective wasn't over. There was a victim still out there —a kid for Christ's sake. A kid Tony had unintentionally injured. This was personal.

Unfortunately, Tony's nighttime search was going nowhere. Even with the multiple serum samples provided by S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony couldn't find a lock on any of the unique energy outputs they in theory would create when introduced to human DNA. The lost cause of it was finally catching up with the hero. The kid could have been dragged on a ship, been driven off to another state...or even flat out killed. Tony's heart hung heavy. He didn't want to give up, but maybe it was time —at least for tonight anyway. He made the disheartening decision to finish his southward sweep into the city of Elizabeth, and if he couldn't find any trace of the kid he'd head back to Avenger's Tower. This type of aimless searching wasn't getting him anywhere. He could figure out other methods once he was back home. Fine tune the energy scans, anything.

 _"Sir, it's none of the searching signatures, but we have a power surge approximately 0.96 kilometers southeast,"_ Jarvis alerted, locking Tony on to the location.

"I'm pretty sure I'm looking at it..." Tony's eyes widened at a burst of a blueish white light over a half mile away.

It originated from the ground and erupted outward and mostly upward at least 30 feet high. The bright light only remained for a second, then it was gone. The Iron Man suit was at full thrusters to the location. It looked like the search for the kid was ending even earlier, but Tony couldn't ignore a disruption like this. People could be hurt, and whatever it was that caused the power flash could happen again. Not to mention this was pretty damn close to Newark International Airport.

Tony hovered and scanned over the sight. There at least appeared to be some luck for him tonight, the location of the blast was a parking lot thankfully empty of people during the late hour. Just not so lucky for Ray's Truck Sales, as pretty much all the trucks in the lot were in varying degrees of being damaged. The epicenter of the blast was unmistakable, a ring of trucks that were completely destroyed and the damage to the vehicles was less and less moving outward.

 _"Second sweep is picking up a body,"_ Jarvis spoke up. _"Heartbeat detected, sir."_

"Thadda' boy."

Tony carefully lowered to a stand near the blast center. All that could be seen at first glance were small pieces of rubble, but then it caught his eyes: a bare foot and leg sticking out from underneath. Tony quickly went to work, brushing away the debris; the while his mind whirling trying to understand what could have happened here. Had this person set off some kind of "gentle" bomb here that allowed them to survive it? The person was a he. Pale and dirty. A tangle of messy long dark brown hair...and wearing a hospital gown.

Tony's breath caught in his throat, and he popped up the mask of his helmet so he could see the person's face with his own eyes. It was the kid. Unconscious, but alive and breathing. The gown was pretty torn up, and the boy's body was peppered with a fair amount of bruises and cuts, both old and new. Tony had never been so relieved and heartbroken at the same time. The boy suddenly woke with a start before Tony could put the call in for a medical team. The kid's eyes went wide in panic, and he shot up into a sitting position and scrambled back a few feet.

"D-don't arrest me please." The kids voice was raspy and quiet from a throat long suffering of soreness. "I don't know how... I-I didn't mean to."

"Hey hey hey," Tony spoke calmly. He went ahead and stepped out of his armor so the kid wouldn't feel so threatened. "You obviously recognize me, so you know I'm one of the good guys. I help people in trouble. And I know you've been in trouble. I know some bad people have been hurting you." Tony carefully stepped up closer and knelt down to be more caringly eye-level. "I'm not here to arrest you, kid. I'm here to help you. Okay?"

The boy nodded. One of his hands shot up and rubbed around his dirty bare neck, and his scared eyes showed a bit of relief, but his anxious breathing still remained fast.

"Alright, good," Tony showed him a small smile. "Okay first up, you feel hurt anywhere?"

"Um, not really bad anywhere, no."

"Okay. Did anyone take you from the building when I came in with S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"No. No, I-I ran."

"Alright, that's okay. And now remember you're not going to be in trouble. Nobody's hurt, and insured property damage isn't _that_ big a deal. You made this happen somehow? The light? The ground and trucks all bang boom?"

The boy gave small rapid nods as his answer. Emergency sirens finally being heard in the distance made the kid's eyes fill with even more fear.

"Don't worry, kid," Tony tried to assure. "I'll get S.H.I.E.L.D. here, and they'll get you-"

"No!" The kid screamed through his hoarse voice. "I just found out I've been in hell for four months being poked and prodded. I've heard the stories. I know what S.H.I.E.L.D. does to people who they think are dangerous." The kid was sounding more sure and upset as he spoke. A fear-filled anger growing, and with it a _glowing_. White with just a twinge of blue just barely radiating off the middle of his chest and slowly spreading across it. The boy stood. "Nobody's gonna touch me! Nobody's gonna test on me again!" The glow crept down his arms. "Nobody's gonna lock me away! This isn't my fault!"

 _"Sir-"_ Jarvis tried to chime in from Tony's ear piece.

"Not the best time," Tony cut the AI off under his breath. "I'm hearing you, kid. Calm down, okay? Try to calm down."

"You can't call them! Nobody's hurting me again! Do you hear me?! I don't care if you're Iron Man! Nobody's-"

The trauma induced teenage freak out was getting bigger, the sirens were getting closer, and the glowing was beginning to get more intense. This was basically a recipe for disaster.

"Hey hey! Nobody's calling S.H.I.E.L.D. right now, okay?" Tony stood, but took a few steps back to give the kid space. "Now let's just calm down. 'Cause right about now I'm thinking if you don't, we're gonna have another 'bang boom' on our hands."

Confusion ripped through the scared and angry look on the boy's face, but it came right back when the kid looked down at himself and finally noticed the glow coming from his chest to his finger tips and beginning to creep down his torso and up his neck. "Oh no oh no oh no oh no..." the kid quietly rambled. He hugged his arms around himself and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to take deep slow breaths.

 _"Sir."_ Jarvis piped up more urgently. _"The surge from before and the energy signature coming off of the young man now: it's a match for your repulsor tech."_

All emotion left Tony's face in his shock. If his so-called genius brain could understand the basics of how those serums work, then...he did this to the kid. It was his accidental blast to the boy's chest that successfully finished off the serum's work. Tony's heart was heavy over this boy once again. Tony didn't flip the switch in motion that turned this poor kid's life on its head. He didn't start the trauma or the fear or anger; but Tony did finish it, regardless of it being an accident. Tony was to blame for what was happening now, and he had to fix it. He _had_ to. Tony finally snapped out of it enough to hear the kid speaking again. The glow still on him, but now thankfully a little dimmer.

"I know I need help. But please, I'm begging you, don't give me to S.H.I.E.L.D. Would... would you be able to help me? Mr. Stark...er, Iron Man, sir, please."

The kid was dripping with desperation, his eyes pleading. Tony did the only thing he could do. He helped create this boy, so the boy was his responsibility now. Tony stepped back into his suit, his armor closing back up around him. He held his hand out for the boy as two police cars pulled up to the far end of the lot; a fire truck almost near on the other side. "So kid, you down for a tour of Avenger's tower?"


	4. Trust

Andrew. The kid's name was Andrew. That's really all that Tony got out of teen after that mostly silent journey to Avenger's Tower. It was 2:58 AM. The members of the team residing there that night were asleep, and had thankfully already been asleep when Tony arrived about a half hour earlier with his "house guest". Tony wasn't planning on keeping the kid a secret exactly, but he was pretty sure avoiding perhaps the excitement and/or nervousness of meeting a house full of other heroes straightway was probably for the best with how the kid's current mental state was.

Tony was sat slouched on the modern gray sofa in the common room, uncharacteristically unplugged from technology. He could be doing something productive; like trying to track down any leaked research in the DNA altering serums or even attempting to run a facial recognition search to find out more to this kid's identity and background than just a first name. But no, Tony Stark remained still, just letting his mind whirl in a circle of guilt and worry as he waited for Andrew to finish cleaning himself up. Tony only snapped out of his trance when the kid finally made his appearance. Andrew quietly padded into the open room, stopping a few feet from where Tony sat, unsure. Bare feet and now dressed in a Stark Industries hoodie and sweatpants. The black clothes contrasted with how pale the boy still looked, though his appearance had greatly improved after a shower. His face clear of dirty smudges. His damp longish locks now clean and holding a slight messy curl to them. The only visible injuries seen now were the bruise under the kid's left eye and shallow cuts on his right cheek and bottom lip. Tony knew there were more hidden under the clothes, but at least in this moment the kid didn't look as heartbreakingly broken as he did earlier.

"Hey kid," Tony stayed seated, keeping the mood as casual as possible. Andrew still had to be reeling from everything that happened to him, and a transition to another unreal situation (even if it was nonviolent and not against his will) still had to be hard to process. "Don't look so nervous, hm. Safe space. How about you take a seat."

Andrew gave a little nod and made his way to the matching sofa across from Tony, a glass coffee table separating them. He sat right in the middle and pulled his feet up to sit cross-legged. He gave a quick glance at Tony, then looked down at his hands in his lap.

"Okay," Tony began, sitting up straight, "so I said I wasn't going to badger you about needing any check up or tests...within a reasonable time frame, until you're ready. And I didn't suddenly change my mind, so don't worry. But I'm thinking we should talk."

"About what?" Andrew deflected, keeping his gaze down as he spoke. His voice was a little scratchy but nowhere near as hoarse as it had been earlier that evening.

Tony mentally sighed. "Oh, I don't know, maybe about how I found you trapped in a mad scientist's evil lair with dozens of other people? Yeah, yeah that's it."

"What if I don't wanna talk about it?" Andrew looked at Tony then, tired eyes glossed over with anguish. It made Tony want to kick himself for being so blunt.

"Well I'm not going to make you, so you don't have to. But I hope you'll think about it. I brought you here to help you, kid. And I think it's going to be a lot easier to do that if you can help me out here first by letting me know what happened to you."

"Okay, I...I will. I just, don't wanna do this right now. I can't."

"Don't worry kid. You'll get there. We'll get there. And well, just so we're clear, you must know that a few _important_ people live here, so you're not really going to be a secret from them. But I promise that's nothing to worry about. No one else is going to know about you being here or what happened to you as long as you don't want them to. But do you have some family you want to call, kid? Someone's got to be missing you. Wherever they're from; I can get them here to you if-"

Andrew snorted a short humorless laugh that cut Tony off. "No. There's nobody missing me."

Tony pressed his lips together at the depressing bit of shared information. He didn't know if he should press the kid more about it, or maybe just leave this to be shared on the kid's own time too.

"Um, Mr. Stark," Andrew began in a quieter tone, "I don't really want to bother you for anything else right now, like I mean just you bringing me here was...thank you. But um, actually I'm really hungry."

And Tony wanted to kick himself again. How could he not have thought about feeding the poor kid? One of the _many_ reasons he would never have kids of his own —or even pets for that matter. Tony was quite happy with just robots. With a raid of the refrigerator, Tony hooked Andrew up with several cartons of somebody's leftover Chinese food. The kid ate at the coffee table while sitting on the floor. He devoured it all except for a half bag left of crispy chow mein noodles. And the kid probably downed at least a half gallon of water along with it. There had been no talking, just hurried eating; and Tony sadly wondered how long ago the kid had been allowed to eat by those bastards at the lab. It was only when the kid was done, chopsticks down, and his latest glass of water drained that the kid spoke.

"I couldn't get that stupid collar off." Andrew seemingly said out of the blue, his eyes on the empty food cartons. He was still sitting on the floor and leaned back heavily against the sofa, his arms hugged around his drawn up legs.

Tony just listened; he wasn't about to try to hurry up the kid to get to the point. The teen had decided to open up, and Tony would respect Andrew going at his own pace.

"I could tell it wasn't turned on," Andrew went on after a short pause. "Like there wasn't a hum to it like there always was, but I was afraid it could start up again any second, that one of those people could track me with it or just kill me. I was hiding in the back of some dude's pickup truck, like prying at it the whole time. I dunno how long it was. It was just suddenly dark out and the truck stopped at a 7-Eleven, and I snuck out and ran across the street to hide at that truck place. I didn't mean to break all that stuff. I..." Andrew's eyes met Tony's. "I just couldn't get the collar off. I was scared. I dunno, I was freaking out I guess. And then... I went all glowy. And like you said, 'bang boom'."

That bit of sharing was certainly a start, and did Tony ever appreciate it. He'd seen the tinier demonstration with his own eyes when the kid got angry and scared and started to glow, but what the kid described here definitely proved that the activation of the serum induced power was at least partly connected with how the boy's body reacted with certain emotions.

"Don't worry about Mr. Ray and his fine establishment. I'll make sure he's taken care of." Tony leaned forward and grabbed a crispy noodle from the table and popped it in his mouth. "And hey, I'm assuming that's what got the collar off, so at least it was a partial win situation." Tony remarked cheekily.

Andrew cracked a small smile for a brief moment. It slipped away to a concerned look. "I coulda hurt someone. I don't wanna hurt anybody."

"Of course you don't, and you won't. That's why you're here. I won't let you hurt anyone, and I won't let anyone hurt you. I realize this is a 'we just met' sort of situation, but I'm hoping we can have a level of trust here." The man scooted down to sit on the floor across from Andrew and held his hand out over the coffee table for the boy to shake. "So here we are... I'm Tony Stark and I'm going to do everything I can to help you, and I trust you won't blue bang boom my tower."

Andrew showed another tiny smile and bought his hand up to Tony's offered one. "I'm Andrew Hutton, sir, and if you say I'm safe here, I believe you. And I guess I'll try not to...explode or whatever." A half cheeky smile graced the kid's face.

Tony let out a silent huff of a laugh. At least the kid was becoming comfortable in his presence. "Well, that's a good place to start, kid."


	5. Lost Puppy

Tony nursed a cup of coffee leaning back against the kitchen counter. Steve Rodgers stood near him, a mug of coffee in his own hand; both men in casual clothes and looking at the subject of their quiet conversation. Andrew. The kid was sat at the table slowly eating some cereal and apple slices, the while shyly stealing little glances at Natasha who was sitting across from him.

"Well I, for one, still can't believe you didn't argue with me to bring him to S.H.I.E.L.D in the first place," Tony told Steve.

"Like I said, the circumstances what they were and what they are, I think this is the best place for him right now. But stop deflecting," Steve placed his mug down on the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's been three days since he was rescued. Have you even bothered to look up his mother? You didn't bring home a lost puppy, Tony. This is a kid. A human child."

Tony sighed and kept his eyes on the boy as he spoke dismissively, "Yeah, I ran a background on her."

"And? Do I have to go over this again? Her son was missing for four months. Don't you think we should put an end to her worrying. Just give me her information, and I'll handle this if you won't."

"I already did my digging for the kid's family even before he eventually told me he had a mother that was 'probably still alive' and gave up her name. No red flags. Just an average lower class woman with a decent chunk of debt currently living off unemployment checks. He told me not to bother trying to contact her, that she wouldn't care. So more digging: she never reported him missing," Tony stated blankly. "And I thought well, that doesn't necessarily mean 'bad mom', like maybe somehow I read the kid wrong. Maybe he's trouble. Maybe he's a repeat runaway and she's been struggling and just finally gave up on him. So I tried convincing him that calling her and just telling her that he was okay was the best thing to do. Big mistake. He got upset. Smurf aura upset. That little chat was the cause of that blown over chair and bookshelf yesterday. There was a lot of angry rambling you wouldn't have approved of, a lot of f-bombs, but yeah, the jist of it...He wasn't kidnapped. His mother effectively sold him."

Steve was at a loss for words, and Tony stayed silent for a moment too. Tony's whole body was tense with an angry disgust at recalling the heated conversation with the boy. At that time Tony had only known the kid for about thirty-six hours, but Tony believed him. The hurt he saw in Andrew's eyes was real. It wasn't a look that could be faked.

"Take his word as my word on this," Tony went on. "No one's calling mommy. At least not now or anytime soon."

"So then what's the plan with him?"

Tony took a long sip of his coffee before he answered. "Like I told all of you, he's my responsibility. He stays until I can undo what I did to him."

"Tone, it wasn't your fault. You have to-"

"Yeah yeah, heard the spiel before: 'Not your fault, those oogy boogy bad guys, yada yada'. What's important is that I finished what they started. So until I can fix it, Andrew's under my watch; and probably the best thing happening after is the kid going straight to CPS. They're going to be told upfront though that he gets nothing but the best care, that I'll front the bill. Lord knows the kid's going to need some extensive therapy. I've got this under control."

Tony gave Steve a look of conviction and let the conversation end there. He made his way over to the table. Nat was telling Andrew something that Tony wasn't close enough to make out yet, but the kid's loud laughter in response to what she said was clear. And also very apparent was the small burst of energy that sharply radiated off Andrew at the same time. The tiny pulse of power only had enough force to move the kid's cereal bowl a few inches and knock over his glass of orange juice, but Andrew still became a nervous wreck.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he mumbled, swiftly getting out of his chair and backing away from the table a few paces.

"Hey, it's alright, kid." Tony swiped a hand towel off the counter before closing the rest of his gap to the table. He plopped the towel down on the spilled juice and placed an assuring hand on Andrew's shoulder. "Why don't you just go chill in your room for a bit before Dr. Banner gets back. You can sit down with Jarvis and order yourself some clothes." Tony looked the boy up and down in his Stark gear. "As much as I don't mind you being a Stark Industries walking gift shop, maybe you'd be a little more comfortable here in clothes your own style."

Andrew smiled a little. "Thank you, Mr. Stark...er, Tony."

Tony nodded him off then turned to Natasha with a raised brow. "So what did you tell him that was so funny?"

She smiled mischievously, "My lips are sealed."

The door to the guest room was open, and Tony lingered in the doorway for a moment. Andrew had his back to him from where he sat at the desk facing the computer screen. The kid was in the middle of a conversation with Jarvis, and Tony couldn't help but smile just a little. There was the guilt attached to the kid sure, but Tony had already developed a soft spot for the teen as well. It had only been three days with the boy around, but it was obvious that Andrew was a good kid to the core. He was pretty reserved, not at all very talkative unless addressed, but that could be due to his horrible experiences the past four months or the sudden surroundings the kid found himself in —as in surrounded by superheroes. That most definitely had to be intimidating. The boy was always on his best behavior (minus an angry outburst), and Tony hoped it wasn't just because the kid feared he would be kicked out or sent to S.H.I.E.L.D. otherwise. Andrew didn't have to worry about any of that. Tony promised he would help; so the kid could consider the Tower his home until Tony made everything right again.

"Um, are you sure? That's kinda a lot. I know Mr. Stark is a billionaire and all, but I still don't wanna be a leech or whatever."

" _I assure you, Mr. Hutton, Mr. Stark will not consider you a leech,_ " Jarvis's assuring voice came through the room's sound system.

"Seriously kid, get what you want." Tony strolled in, making his presence known. "Whatever you would wear before this whole mess. Whatever you wished you could afford to wear. Go wild, a few Converses, a silver chain, a Lady Gaga shirt, Stormtrooper armor. You do you, kid. You'll be doing me a favor."

Andrew swiveled around in his chair and faced Tony with confusion in his eyes. "How?"

"Just a hope that maybe showering you with a new wardrobe will chip away a little of my guilt." Tony spoke honestly.

Andrew was quiet at first, averting his gaze to the floor and chewing on his lip, but he quickly looked back to Tony. "You don't have to. Feel guilty, I mean. I could be dead if it weren't for you."

Tony sighed. The man wished acknowledging that would work in making him not feel so bad, but alas Tony's culpability was just as stubborn as the rest of him. "Right. But still, just do me the favor and pick out some more stuff later. For now we should head to the lab. Dr. Banner's back early."

Andrew visibly stiffened at the words. "I'm gonna have to try to do that stress thing again, aren't I?"

Tony frowned slightly, remembering the first attempt at implementing the stress test. The kid started having a panic attack at just having the monitoring wires applied to this body. Tony didn't know exactly what Andrew had went through, but lab work like that had to have been something he was forced to do, and had to be a trigger. The kid only talked to Tony about what happened at the facility very briefly and vaguely, just saying he had been constantly shot up with drugs and hurt. That they hurt everybody. That they made all the captives fight each other. Tony had secured S.H.I.E.L.D.'s findings of what went down, including statements from several other victims. Every single one of them suffered physical abuse on a day-to-day basis, and a few others admitting to sexual assault. Those poor people were being systematically broken down. Made to lose their will, made to lose themselves so those sickos at the helm of this project could manufacture obedient specialized soldiers for sale. The project was called Lethal Legion. Weapon X admirers indeed.

"It would help if you would try," Tony said carefully. "But listen, I know this isn't easy. Unfortunately, I know a few things about being captured and held against one's will and all the lovely trauma baggage that comes with it. I won't pretend that what I went through even remotely comes close to the hell you were trapped in, but... where was I even going with this? Just, even with how uncomfortable it'd probably be for the both of us, if you ever need an ear or a shoulder, I'm here."

Tony almost couldn't believe he just put that offer out there. If there were certain things Tony Stark wasn't, it was a sharer of feelings or a shoulder to cry on guy. But with Andrew it was a situation Tony never had before. Dealing with a kid that shared the traumatic experience of being a captive. A kid he felt responsible for. A kid counting on him to help bring his life back to normal.

"Did you have nightmares?" Andrew asked in a small voice.

"Of course."

"Do they ever go away?"

Tony sighed, thinking of his answer carefully. Sure he hadn't had a nightmare about Afghanistan in years, but there was plenty of other madness that would haunt his dreams from time to time. "I don't think there's an absolute answer either way. The thoughts and images of bad experiences are always tucked away somewhere in our heads. There's always a chance of them coming out. But I can tell you, it gets better. You're just fresh out of that piece of hell. You just need time."

Andrew nodded, then took a deep breath and stood. "Alright, let's get this shit over with then. I mean... stuff."

Tony chuckled and clapped the kid on the back. "I don't mind the curse words, but just keep that sailor mouth of yours out of Cap's earshot to save yourself from an earful of the 'gentlemen's guide to 1940s etiquette'." Tony snickered.

"Noted." Andrew cracked a smile and started to walk with Tony from the room. "Sorry again about the mess at breakfast," Andrew spoke again after the short pause. "I should have cleaned it up before I left. I guess I can put laughing on the list of things I can't do, including getting scared, getting angry, sneezing."

Tony couldn't help but laugh. "Come on, that sneeze was amazing. Any time anyone knocks Clint's smirking ass out of his chair, I'm a fan of however it's done."

"I guess." Andrew smiled again a little. "But I don't wanna worry about demolishing a house if I get a cold or something. I just wanna be normal. I'll be able to do that test this time, I promise."

"Don't worry. We'll get you there. I promise you that."


	6. Training

"Nothing's changed here, Tony." Dr. Bruce Banner scratched at the back of his neck as he delivered the news.

It was just him and Tony in the lab of Avenger's Tower, and Tony was looking defeated as both men's eyes were on Andrew's latest displayed test results. Tony rung at the material at the bottom of his Black Sabbath shirt. No change was bad news as far as he was concerned.

"It keeps astounding me at what a picture of health he is." Bruce went on, not picking up on Tony's dismay. "A biological fusion like this. He's like a walking-talking muon accelerator. And how the power lays dormant until accessed... just, wow, right? You and I both know this kind of energy in direct contact with the human body should cause cellular decay or some kind of harmful genetic mutation, but this acceptance of the particles is _at_ a cellular level. It's remarkable. He's remarkable."

Tony swiped the results away and stood up from the desk. He wanted to throw up. Bruce basically fanboying over the scientific work of twisted criminals was making him sick. "You know what he also is? A kid. A kid who spent four months being a lab rat. A kid that spent his sixteenth birthday strapped to a table being pumped full of drugs that made his veins feel like he was on fire...and if not that, then being beaten into submission."

Bruce swiveled around in his chair to face Tony and frowned sadly. "I know how the boy was treated. Just what I mean to say here is...as sadistic as those people were, they got it right with Andrew. I'm keeping up with the S.H.I.E.L.D. files you're 'borrowing'; those other victims, the fusions of their given powers weren't remotely as cohesive. The fourteenth person this month was given a successful remedy. I've read and reread all the victims' files, the interviews, and all the updates on the case you're managing to steal; but like I said, nothing's changing here. Andrew was given something different that S.H.I.E.L.D. never found a sample of at the raid. It's been two months, Tony. Unless they track something down, there's nothing I can do to reverse what happened to the boy. And even if they _do_ find something, there's no guarantee."

Tony shut his eyes and sighed heavily. "I promised I'd help him."

"What do you think you've been doing the past two months?" Bruce chided with a small smile. "Helping doesn't have to mean 'turning him back to normal'. You're helping him get past everything. You've given him a place to feel safe. So we all keep doing what we've been doing in the meantime: try to train him to control his power."

Tony sighed again. "I guess him staying here is going to be a bit longer than expected. At least he stays small and cute and only goes blue. Could be worse. He could turn big, ugly, and green."

Bruce glared, and Tony grinned quite pleased with himself.

Tony was dreading having to break the news to Andrew that he wasn't going to be able to make him normal again, or at least anytime in the foreseeable future. Andrew had gained some control of his power over his two months holed up with the Avengers, but the kid was still scared of himself. Scared he'd accidentally hurt people if he were to go out into the real world. Tony mentally kicked himself. Why'd he have to go and make promises when he didn't definitively know if he could keep them. And then there was the more selfish dread. The kid being stuck with unwanted, loose cannon power was partially Tony's fault. He was suppose to fix the boy and with it make his guilt finally go away. How was that ever going to happen now?

Natasha was having her turn of keeping Andrew occupied, so Tony didn't need Jarvis to inform him that the pair were in the training room. Tony had worked up the gall to give the kid the bad news, and delivering it right in the training room (which had the ability to safely contain a literal emotional out burst of the blue glowing variety) was the safest bet. Tony froze mid step after he opened the training room doors.

The man knew Nat was fondly taking time to teach and spar with the kid, and he knew Andrew looked forward to it. It was something Tony disliked at first, but he came around. Despite the excitement you think you'd get 24/7 suddenly living with superheroes, the kid did get bored, and Tony wasn't going to forbid an activity the kid enjoyed and he knew Natasha kept safe. At least what Tony _thought_ she kept safe. So what the man expected to see was maybe a bit of gentle grappling between the two, not... _this_.

This wasn't just mats out sparring time; an attack simulation exercise was being run through the computer. Andrew's whole body was aglow, but not overbearingly intense; his features were seen and the Stark workout gear was easily recognizable on his form. Several small disc drones hovered overhead in the vast room.

"Concentrate." Nat stood behind the boy, instructing him. "One at a time. Remember, don't let me get hit or I'll get angry."

Andrew threw his hands outstretched in front of him, and the blue glow around them grew and intensified. One of the drones flashed red in warning. Tony was left watching transfixed as a few things happened at once. The drone fired a laser blast, and in those milliseconds as the tendrils of the fire power only just began to shoot forward at Andrew and Nat, Andrew let out a teeth gritted yell as his own bright buildup of energy shot forth from his palms. It collided with the laser beam along with the drone and burst it into pieces. This was new.

And so Tony watched this new demonstration of power in a perplexed awe. Andrew successfully took down three more drones, but when a fourth one fired, the boy seemingly couldn't create a blast of his own. The laser fire hit Andrew in the shoulder. The kid didn't drop or cry out in pain, and even though Tony knew the training drones' blasts only caused a minor sting when hit, the sight was enough to bring Tony out of his quiet observation.

"Jarvis! Abort the drill! Abort!" Tony purposely marched into the room. The lighting of the room brightened with the drill's termination, and the drones flittered off back to their storage containment. Tony stopped before Andrew, crossing his arms over his chest before he addressed the boy. "So what in the actual hell do you think you're doing?"

"I'm not hurt," Andrew hurriedly piped up, his blue glow washing away. "I barely felt it."

Tony's eyes shifted accusingly to Natasha. "Romanov?"

"Chill, Tony." Nat dismissed with a sigh. "We're all doing what we can to help him _control_ his power, right? Not suppress it."

"Ah come on, Nat," Tony let out a humorless chuckle, "this isn't 'control training'; this is learning how to... _super fight_. He's sixteen."

"And he's got a better head on his shoulders and stronger than most grown men I know," Nat looked at Tony pointedly. "He can handle it, Tony. He's _been_ handling it."

"What if I wanna fight?" Andrew spoke up again, showing Tony a very confident look.

Tony rubbed his hands down his face. He wasn't sure why he felt so panicked and against this. "Nat, could you just give us a minute."

"Sure." Natasha gave Andrew a friendly punch to the shoulder accompanied with a smile, "Nice work today, squirt."

Tony waited until she was gone and the door was slid shut to speak. "So how long as 'Simulation Fight Club' been going on?" He was trying to be a little more relaxed about this, uncrossing his arms and instead stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Not long." Andrew shrugged. "But listen, I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I know you and Dr. Banner have been trying your hardest to like get this stuff outta me, but...but I..."

"It's not happening," Tony admitted bluntly. "It's the different kind of drug cocktail you were given. Or your DNA. Or maybe it was the unique blast from my tech. Or a combination of everything. The energy, it's a part of you, and there's no stripping it out in the foreseeable future."

Andrew was quiet, his gaze thoughtful and lowered to the floor.

"But don't worry," Tony went on, laying a comforting hand on the boys shoulder, "no one's giving up. We just have to hang in there until we can get more intel and-"

"Don't." Andrew's interruption wasn't angry, just firm, and Tony wasn't sure exactly what the kid meant by it.

"What?" The man questioned with a knitted brow, pulling his hand away carefully.

"Don't look anymore. I was trying to tell you...I don't want this to go away." Andrew brought his hand up, making it precisely glow. He flexed his fingers, watching the bright energy dance around the skin for a moment before closing his hand into a fist and extinguishing the glow. "I'm getting good at it. Well, _okay_ at it. And I'm finding out all these different things I can do. You've already helped me so much, and I feel kinda shitty asking for more but... if you'd just let me stay here a little longer, 'til I can control myself better. I could be like you. I could help people."

The look in the kid's eyes was just so honest and raw. This scared little kid he took in wanted to be a hero. It was admirable, but more than anything it made Tony nervous.

"You know you're welcome to stay here longer, but I'm not so sure about all this 'learn to fight the big tough bad guys' stuff. I don't know what your little Auntie Black Widow got running in your head, but this kind of-"

"I'm not asking to be an Avenger, if that's what you think," Andrew cut in. "I know that's like way out of my league and stuff, but I can still do good." Andrew made his whole body glow then, and Tony would have been worried but the kid's demeanor was calm. "I'm like this because of some really bad and painful and mess up shit. I can't change how this became a part of me, but I can make all those bad days and weeks and months I went through mean something, you know? I don't wanna have gone through all that for nothing. I can make it mean something. You saved me, and I just want to be able to do that for other people."

Well, there it was; Tony got to discover firsthand what it felt like to have a heart melt inside a chest. He didn't feel like he deserved it, but in hearing those words the man felt proud. The kid accepted his fate. Chose to have it be a blessing rather than a curse. Tony found himself in awe again; this kid was more mature beyond his years.

Tony hid his smile and sighed overdramatically. "Well, let's hear it then. You want to be a superhero. What name have you been dreaming up?"

Andrew showed an embarrassed smile. "I dunno. I was thinking maybe, 'cause you know, my power is your repulsor tech and I can blast the stuff now and everything, so I thought maybe Pulse was pretty cool? I mean, it's either that or I'm Repulsive."

Tony laughed. "You're too young to be making puns."

Andrew smiled as he gave a little shrug, and it warmed Tony to his core. Having the kid around the past two months admittedly made things complicated. The man had been a wreck with the added responsibility, but at least now in this moment the guilt was starting to melt away.


	7. Fight

Another two months rolled by. Having Andrew around had become significantly less stressful for Tony. With the teen embracing his power, Tony was finally able to let go of his harbored guilt and could focus his talents on helping Andrew in a more positive light. Andrew wanted to be "Pulse", and Tony found himself diving in headfirst with complete and utter support. It was a fun challenge training Drew (the nickname was received a hell of a lot better than Tony's initial try with "Andy". The kid's hated mother apparently called him that, so Andy was a no-go.) But yes, discovering the new ways Andrew could manipulate his power, and helping him hone his craft were much better days spent. Tony was ever dedicated. And this was much more than being invested in a project. Tony liked the teen, cared about him. And as excited as Tony was about helping Andrew reach total control of his power, there was this small part inside of the man that kind of dreaded Andrew getting to that point. Tony's help wouldn't be needed anymore.

Tony wouldn't admit, even to himself, just how attached he had become to the boy. Without that ever present guilt-ridden worry of "fixing" the kid, Tony was truly enjoying his presence. And of course, with Andrew not worrying about becoming normal, his real self was shining. And real Drew was an entertaining snarky little punk. He was still of course a good kid, and now far more confident. Maybe living in a house full of superheroes for over four months rubbed off on him, or maybe it was a new found confidence from embracing his power. Or maybe, as Tony suspected, it was inside the kid all along.

Andrew stood before Tony with his fists propped at his hips in an assertive stance. He was wearing the formfitting training super-suit Tony designed for him. Navy blue with some black and light blue embellishing lines, and a large simple symbol covering the chest in white —its design mimicking that of Tony's triangular arc reactor. Tony's "custom Spandex blend" of the Pulse suit definitely became a necessity when Andrew amped up his training. The kid could only hold a full glow around him in normal clothes for a few minutes at time before the energy started to tear little holes through the material. Andrew looked the part of a real hero, and Tony was proud with how the kid was progressing. But at the moment proud didn't quite describe what Tony was feeling. It was more like grossly annoyed with a dash of concern.

"My answer is 'no'." Tony deadpanned.

"You're such an asshole!" Andrew yelled out in an angry huff, his arms moving to hang rigidly at his sides, his fists clenched tighter.

Tony had to hold back rolling his eyes. Here it finally was after four months of bringing a teenager into his home: a real 'you're ruining my life and everything is totally unfair!' outburst. Andrew had his moody moments, mostly went it came to Tony making him work with a tutor. Sure, Tony was on board with keeping the teen out of school for safety reasons, but it became part of the deal of Andrew staying at the tower that he had to keep up with his education. Those moments of the past really only amounted to annoyed groans and some half-hearted pleading, but now...now the kid was mad. On the bright side, there was no hint of blue emanating from him. But unfortunately, the fight was happening in the common room in front of Clint, Nat, and Steve.

"Why don't you just go back to your room and change, and I'll pretend like I didn't hear that."

"You can't not let me be apart of this! It's not fair! If anyone deserves to go after that twisted motherfucking son of a bitch, it's me!"

"Language," Steve interjected from where he sat.

"Shut up," Tony and Andrew shouted at the star spangled hero in unison, not breaking eye contact from each other.

The "twisted motherfucking son of a bitch" they were fighting over had a name: Dr. Oliver G. Lynch. It was this man that had escaped from the Lethal Legion facility those months ago during S.H.I.E.L.D.'S Iron Man led raid. When Tony "less than legally" intercepted the intel on the mad doctor being a possible suspect, he all too eagerly asked Andrew to look at the man's picture to make his own confirmation. Andrew had gone rigid when he saw the picture on the holoscreen. The kid's eyes glossed over with angry tears, and he gave Tony that confirmation in a deadly quiet tone, "That's him."

There were three possible hideout locations, and Tony was planning his own swift split up and takedown of the fugitive doctor; S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't moving fast enough on this for his liking. Andrew obviously wanted to be a part of it.

"Listen rug rat, there are a million reasons why I'm never going to let you come. But the big number one, you still haven't even ventured out of the Tower since you got here. And you think the first time I'm going to let you do that is for you to go on a mission after someone who personally tortured you?" Tony chuckled humorlessly. "No. I'm not letting you do this."

"I can handle that. Nat thinks I'm ready." Andrew spoke taking a confident step toward Tony, the two just a meter apart now.

Tony tossed an offhanded glare at the redhead before shooting Andrew down. "Well, Nat's not in charge of you so that means jack and shit."

"Who the hell are you that says you're in charge of me?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because I saved your life." Tony began to prattle off his reasons, gesturing with his hands. "Maybe because I found you. Maybe because I'm helping you train. Maybe because I'm letting you live under my roof. I feed you, I got you clothes, a whole room full of shit to call yours, and I'm paying for homeschooling. You want some more reasons?"

"That's not fair." Andrew's tone was quiet, but still angry.

"What? The truth? You begged me to help you, and I did, and it's what I'm still doing."

"What if I don't need you anymore."

The words flew out of Andrew's mouth like venom, and Tony found himself surprisingly stung by them. Tony Stark was usually a man who couldn't shut up, but right now he was too struck to find any words.

"Enough," Nat got up from where she sat at the table and walked over to Andrew's side. "It's time to drop it. You're not ready for _this_. It's too personal. _Drop it_ ," she said again, a firmer tone that let Andrew know it was best for his health not to argue with her.

"Fine. Fine! I need some air. Or can I not handle being out on the balcony anymore too?" Andrew hurried off before anyone could say anything about it.

"Well..." Tony rubbed his fingers at his temples briefly and let out a puff of air, "that could have gone worse I suppose."

Clint snickered from his seat, feet propped up on the table, and Tony finally noticed the man eating from a bowl of popcorn. Typical Barton. "You're so his dad."

That comment didn't peeve off Tony as much as he thought it would. He freely admitted it, he cared about the kid. It was easy to say that Andrew's well-being and safety were Tony's top priorities. And sure, maybe a kid's real father or even father figure type guy in his life wouldn't so easily encourage and enable and prepare said kid into becoming a suited up vigilante. But Andrew wasn't a normal teen, and Tony sure as hell wasn't a normal type of father figure. Tony believed in Andrew's abilities. The boy was strong and more in control than ever, able to manipulate the energy a part of him to do a number of amazing things. Andrew could fight, and he could defend himself. Tony did think the kid was ready to start putting his powers to use in the real world, but definitely starting small like taking down purse snatchers or something. Allowing the kid to possibly come face-to-face with one of his tormentors was completely out of the question though. Tony stood by that decision with every fiber of his being. Tony knew what it would turn into for Andrew —a lust for revenge— and Tony wasn't going to let Andrew get swept up in that. Tony let the boy be outside. Someday Andrew would understand that benching him from this takedown truly was in his best interests, at least that's what Tony told himself before diving into devising a plan with the team.

They wanted to hit all locations in synchronization, and before nightfall. The mission was at first to be treated as surveillance only. It wasn't known if Lynch was hiding out alone or if the doctor would be among any hostiles. Once they found Lynch, Tony did relent to Steve's insistence that he play ball and call it in to S.H.I.E.L.D. But if Tony happened to be the one to search out the right location, he didn't make any promises about listening to any of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s orders on how to proceed. Tony may have slightly been a hypocrite: Not wanting Andrew involved so the kid wouldn't succumb to the thirst of vengeance, but Tony himself felt driven to go after Lynch by a sense of needing to avenge what that sick doctor did to the boy. What the doctor did to all of those captured people. But could Tony really be blamed? He was an _Avenger_ after all.

Steve had already taken off toward the western side of the country to get a head start to the suspected location in Nevada. The other two hideout locations were closer, on the east coast; so Tony, Clint, and Natasha lingered at the Tower. They had some time to kill before their times to leave, and Tony figured he should try to talk to Andrew one last time before he left. Tony expected this conversation would hold a little less anger too it, imagining Andrew had plenty of time to blow off some steam outside.

Tony made his way out through the balcony doors and glanced around the large space. He looked again. And again. Andrew wasn't there, but Tony didn't let himself panic just yet. He calmly walked back into the common room.

"What's wrong?" Nat questioned right away. He must have looked _too calm_.

"Neither of you happened to have noticed the dear angsty teen coming back inside at all during the meeting?"

"No." Nat answered for her and Clint both. "He would've needed to walk right by us. None of us would have missed him. Especially me."

"You don't think he... I mean..." Clint scratched at the back of his head as he mused. "He was able to make himself fly a flew times in the training room but..."

No. Tony wasn't going to let himself believe that option for a second. "Jarvis," Tony still kept his voice calm, "tell me you have eyes on Drew in his room."

" _Negative, sir._ " The AI quickly replied. " _I am afraid I am not picking up his presence anywhere within the Tower._ "

"Shit." Tony breathed as a trickle of panic started to move through him.

The flying was still fairly new, its limitations basically untested. Would Andrew really have just flung himself from such a height off the Tower? Tony filled with dread. The answer was yes. Yes for the very reason Tony wasn't letting Andrew be involved in the first place: Because this was personal.

"Jarvis. Suit. Now."

Tony hurried to the proper space on the floor, where his machines sprung forth from it and quickly assembled the Iron Man suit around his form. Tony barely had the face plate closed before he gave out the next panicked order.

"Give me the feed on junior's location." Tony knew the tracking device embedded in Andrew's suit would come in handy one day, but the man really hoped it wasn't going to be this soon. "He's heading north ...and fast." Even caught up in his worry, Tony was still able to be impressed by the read out of Andrew's speed. "Basically on a straight away to the cabin location. How would he even know how to the get there?"

"Well damn," Nat spoke up, patting at an empty pocket of her utility belt. "He lifted my phone." Andrew had all the information and a tool to guide him with that in his possession. "He's getting good," she said with a hint of pride.

"Wait, have you been teaching him to pickpocket?" Tony questioned emphatically. "What would that even... You know what? I don't want to know. Change of plan; I'm taking the cabin. You two head south. It doesn't look like I'll be able to catch up with him before he reaches it. Let's just hope he picked wrong, and you guys or Cap are the ones to find Lynch."


	8. Revenge

Tony landed his suit down among the of trees of the forest. If there was one place the man felt out of his element, it was definitely in the wildness. But Tony didn't have time to feel bothered by the utter lack of technology; he had a boy to save. Tony was just outside of a small clearing, most of the space occupied by a large log cabin. According to the tracer, Andrew was definitely inside.

"What are were dealing with here?" Tony questioned, eyes roaming over the readouts of scans.

" _No energy readings out of the ordinary, sir._ " Jarvis answered.

"Okay, he's not using his power. Could be good or bad news."

" _There appears to be no hidden security measures. I am unable to scan for lifeforms inside from this- Sir, a faint change in the energy readings,_ " Jarvis interrupted himself. " _I believe Mr. Hutton has 'turned on'_ ".

Tony clenched his jaw in worry. He hoped to get an idea of what he was about to storm into, devise the safest way to take care of Lynch and any other possible _helpers_ the criminal could potentially have inside with Andrew involved. "Looks like were going in blind."

Tony rocketed close to the ground, rounding the corner to the front side of the cabin. He landed cautiously at the front door with a thud. It was wide open, and Tony didn't waste any time rushing through. He stood just inside the doorway and was met with the definition of cozy cabin living room —if you just looked past the fact that the decor was scattered everywhere in disarray and ignored the addition of the unconscious crumple bodies of two large beefy men on the floor against the unlit fireplace. The scene had "badass Smurf explosion" written all over it, and Tony allowed himself a fraction of a second to feel impression by Andrew's obvious knockout work in the room.

But then Tony heard a cry of pain coming from further inside the structure. He could tell it didn't belong to Andrew, but he moved just as quickly as if it were. Tony found himself in the kitchen. The room was a slightly less disaster. Most of it was intact, but the refrigerator was knocked over blocking the back door, and the remains of a wooden table and a couple of chairs were in shattered pieces by one wall. There was one wooden chair in the center of the room that stood sturdily, though. It was occupied by a thin man in camouflaged hunting clothes. He was in his forties, his hair light brown and graying, very defined wrinkle lines across his forehead, his nose slight upturned. Tony recognized him from the file picture before Jarvis announced his identity. It was Lynch. It was Lynch in a great deal of pain with Andrew standing over him, his body aglow.

"How do you like it, huh?" Andrew voice's was quiet but heavy with a deadly anger as he spoke to the doctor at his disposal. "Begging for someone to stop but they just won't? Not so fun on the other end, is it?" Andrew held up his hands and let the energy gather there and intensify.

"Andrew!" Tony couldn't help but bellow. He needed to stop whatever the kid was planning to do to the doctor next.

The teen kept his "loaded" hands aimed at Lynch, but looked to Tony. Andrew's eyes held such hatred and torment and were glassy from unshed tears. Back at the Tower the boy went about his days not letting on that he bore the painful weight inside him of the hell suffered by Lethal Legion. Andrew always just carried on, had a brave face; the evidence of his trauma only surfacing during the occasional nightmares. Now it was playing out so openly on the boy's face, and it was killing Tony to see Andrew like this. That doctor really must have done a number on the boy, and if Tony hadn't been able to cling on to his sense, he would have been all on-board for letting the kid dish out some well-deserved retribution torture. But Tony did manage to keep his head on straight and knew he had to talk Andrew down from doing something he would regret later. Tony flipped up his face plate.

"You've got him. We've got him. It's over, okay?" Tony said carefully.

Andrew brought his attention back to Lynch, not wavering from his attack stance. "I only dislocated both his shoulders," the kid remarked offhandedly. "Needs to _toughen up_." The way Andrew practically growled the words at the doctor; it was obviously something Lynch had once said to him.

"He needs to go to prison." Tony carefully stepped closer to the pair. "You don't need to do anything else, here. You're better than him. You're a good kid, and he's not worth turning bad over."

Andrew wavered, and Tony could see a tear finally escape and roll down the boy's cheek.

"Just take a step back and relax. You did good, kid. But let me take it from here."

A few tense seconds ticked by, but Andrew seemed to have found his right sense to cling on to as well. The teen closed his eyes and hung his head down, nodding slightly as he took several slow steps back. It wasn't until the glow around Andrew diminished that Tony swooped in behind the doctor.

"Oliver Lynch." Tony stated, deploying a pair of shackles from his suit and none-too-gently yanking the man's arms back to lock them around his wrists. Tony didn't have a problem with dishing out a little added pain to the crooked man's already injured shoulders. It was the very least the doctor deserved. "Consider yourself detained for arrest for crimes against humanity."

"This won't be over so easily." Lynch tried and failed to sound menacing through his teeth clenched in pain.

Tony rolled his eyes. "You can't tell because of the suits' stability, but really, you got me shaking in my boots." The sarcasm easily rolled off his tongue. "But why don't you just zip it, or I might change my mind about letting my sidekick here go off on you."

Lynch kept his mouth firmly shut after that threat, and Tony allowed himself a moment to go over to Andrew's side before he was going to call this in to S.H.I.E.L.D.

"I knew he'd be here." Andrew spoke up, his arms wrapped around himself, his eyes steadily locked on a spot on the floor. "A cabin. Just a thing he said to me once. I should've came inside and told you when I saw the list, but I..." The kid let out a deep shaky sigh.

"I get it," Tony said with understanding. "Are you okay?" The kid didn't look hurt, at least not physically anyway.

"Yeah. I just... Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." The teen's eyes were still glued to the floor. "I just... I dunno, I think I might've killed him if you hadn't shown up."

"Nah, kid. You don't need to think down that dark road. You wouldn't have pushed it that far. You wouldn't do something like that."

"Maybe not with those other scumbags, but he...he uh, he kinda hurt me...extra."

"Shut up, boy." Lynch seethed from his chair, but he was ignored.

"What did he do to you?" Tony felt his insides start to twist in rage, his mind recalling the Lethal Legion victims' statements about the abuse they were subject to.

"Don't make me say it, please."

"Andrew," Tony looked at Lynch as he spoke with the kind of overly calm tone that made it lapse into sounding scary. Certainly not scary for Andrew, but for the mad doctor. "This is important. Did this man —and I use the term very loosely— did he..." Tony breathed, letting the rest of his words come out through clenched teeth, "...did he rape you?"

Andrew closed his eyes at the word and had to breathe a calming breath of his own. He opened his eyes then and locked them squarely on the shackled doctor, his answer coming out firmly. "Yes."

Tony felt like his whole body went cold in hearing the admission. It had been bad enough knowing Andrew had been tortured at Lethal Legion, but this revelation made Tony want to cling on to the boy, made him want to cry, made him want to murder. It was like a flick of a switch, the knotting in Tony's chest and in his gut suddenly grew hot like the coals of a fire. Tony was burning with a fury he had never experienced before. He had no desire to try to stop himself as he stalked back up to the doctor, his armored boots thudding hard against the floor.

"Oh, dear Dr. Lynch," Tony mused. "You see, there's a sick kind of person that takes abducted people and uses them like lab rats. And there's a sick kind of person that preys on children. And then there's you, Lynch. The sickest motherfucker I have ever had the displeasure of meeting."

Tony removed the armored glove from his right hand. "I don't think an Avenger is really allowed to hurt a suspect after he's been captured and rendered defenseless. Buuut, I get the feeling if the rest of the gang were here, a vote of this being the exception to the rule would be unanimous." Tony made a tight fist. "So this is from Iron Man...for you being a sick fuck."

The fist met the doctor's face square on. There was a crunch as hard knuckles instantly broke a nose. The doctor wailed once in pain and then tried to compose himself as blood freely poured down over his mouth and chin.

Tony enjoyed the view as he jabbered on. "I know what you're thinking: is that as hard as _the_ Iron Man can punch? Well, no. Iron Man is a hero. He can't completely lose himself to a cheap shot. But Tony Stark? Tony Stark can." Tony let the glove reassemble over his hand. He flexed his armored fingers a few times before making the glove a fist this time.

"You can't do dis!" Lynch's words came out slightly garbled due to his nose. "I doe my rights!"

"Sure," Tony let out a humorless laugh, "and good luck finding anyone who cares after everything you've done." Tony brought his fist up and let his seething stare burn through Lynch's. "This is from Tony Stark...for hurting my son."

The armored fist connected with the side of Lynch's head with a sick thud. Tony held back the real damage he could have inflicted (i.e. instant death via head trauma), but his punch was still enough to make the doctor topple over —chair and all— instantly unconscious to the floor. Tony stared down at the fallen man with a darkness to his eyes. He was going to have to force just fracturing Lynch's skull to feel satisfying enough. Andrew slowly stepped up next to him and promptly spat down on the unconscious lump of a man.

"It's over." Andrew spoke with relief in his voice, keeping his eyes glued on Lynch.

Tony placed his hand on the teen's shoulder. "It's over," he echoed with a nod.

Andrew took a moment to wipe at his eyes before he spoke again and turning so he could face Tony. "I'm sorry about earlier, back at the Tower. I didn't mean it."

"Didn't mean what?"

"That I don't need you."

"It's alright, junior." Tony brushed it off as nothing, but the words made him feel warm. "It's alright."

It was three weeks later, and Tony was in San Bernardino, California with Happy and a lawyer in tow. The outside of the apartment building looked like it was a small breeze a way from crumbling to bits, so the stench of urine in the decrepit hallways wasn't really a surprise to Tony when he ventured inside. He knocked on door 1C three times before a very tired looking woman in her forties opened the door. She looked pretty much spot on from the recent mug shot.

"Ms. Hutton," Tony stated blandly, swiping off his sunglasses so he could look at her critically. "I'm here to talk about Andrew."


	9. Stark

A folder in hand, Tony purposefully made his way to Andrew's bedroom. He paused outside the closed door, the sound of an electric guitar being played on the other side. Tony instantly recognized the hard rapid tune and smiled proudly. "Search and Destroy" by Iggy and The Stooges. Andrew was an amazing kid, and the shared affinity for proto-punk and 80s metal tipped him even higher on the cool scale. Tony was about to slot his future with a lot of moody teenager fights and eye rolls, but this kid was worth it.

The man didn't bother knocking, he was sure Andrew wouldn't have been able to hear him anyway. The door slid open and Tony was met by the clear and loud music pouring out of a small practice amp in the corner of the room. And now with the door open Tony could hear the kid singing too. In this moment Andrew was just a regular kid: ripped jeans, t-shirt, and fully absorbed in doing something he loved. He was all-in to his solo jam session. He was on his feet facing the amp, his whole body moving to the music he was making, and belting out those words. He hadn't noticed Tony at all, and Tony just went ahead and shut the door behind him and silently enjoyed the show with a smirk and a bopping head.

 **...Soul radiation in the dead of night**  
 **Love in the middle of a fire fight**  
 **Honey gotta strike me blind**  
 **Somebody gotta save my soul**

Tony stepped a little further into the room and let the next verse rip loud from his lips.

 **Baby penetrate my mind**

Andrew looked over in surprise, but didn't falter in his playing. The kid had a big lip-biting embarrassed smile, but when the chorus fast approached he shouted it out along with Tony.

 **And I'm the world's forgotten boy**  
 **The one who's searchin', searchin' to destroy**  
 **And honey I'm the world's forgotten boy**  
 **The one who's searchin', searchin' to destroy**

And Andrew laughed to himself as he played the intricate ending of the song, letting Tony belt out the last bit. The man still in a suit and tie yelling out a Stooges cover and getting louder and more wild with every line. It was a sight.

 **Forgotten boy**  
 **Forgotten boy**  
 **Forgotten boy, I said ah, yeah**  
 **Forgotten boy, I said ah, yeah**  
 **Hey, hey, hey!**

No more singing, no more strumming, no more pick work. The only sound was Andrew's laughter as he hoisted the guitar off over his shoulder and set it down on its stand.

"You're pretty damn good with that thing," Tony gestured to the instrument, and then loosened his tie a little.

"Thanks. And you're pretty much the coolest," Andrew admitted with one last little chuckle and took a seat on the side of his unmade bed. "But come on, dude, knock next time."

"Because you would have heard me over that racket —albeit bitchin' racket, but the point stands."

"Fine," Andrew relented. "Well, what's up then? I promise I finished that math crap before I started playing."

"Not crap," Tony quickly chided and moved to stand in front of Andrew's sitting form. "But I just have a couple quick questions. Carmelo's for dinner tonight? And Hutton or Stark?"

Andrew blinked in confusion. "What?"

Tony plopped the dark folder down on Andrew's lap and stepped away to casually lean against the wall, hands stuffed in his pants' pockets. "Here's the gist: you living here, me being the boss of you...it's all legal now."

"What?" Andrew quietly echoed again. He quickly opened the folder and shuffled through the papers inside.

Tony went on. "Court granted temporary guardianship is well and good, but we can do better. I _am_ going to do better. But before I go filing the petition for adoption I was wondering if we should slip in a change of name form too. No pressure from me what to pick here. Andrew Hutton, Andrew Stark. Both good strong names." Tony kept rambling on. "But hell, if you wanted to scrap 'Andrew' you could. I don't know...you might kind of look like a Brandon? Rory? If you'd chop that mop off your head you could pass as a respectable William."

"Wha-what? Wait..." Andrew's gaze comically shifted back and forth from the legal forms on his lap to Tony several times. His eyes finally stopped on Tony. "You... I mean like, you're trying to be my dad? You wanna be my dad? Like _for real_ for real?" Those eyes instantly got glassy with emotion. "You're...you're sure about this? You're sure about _me_?"

"What's not to be sure about?" The man shrugged, in classic Tony Stark fashion acting flippant over a situation that was very much a big deal. He stepped back over to the bed and took a seat next to the boy. "You keep me on my toes. Aaand you just serenaded me with The Stooges."

"I'm serious. Not that I want to talk you out of this, but I mean, I'm not smart like you. I'm not all into building stuff or whatever. I'm just some regular idiot whose only special 'cause I wasn't strong enough and too stupid to get away from some bad people."

"Alright mister, you can cut it with the down-talking of yourself." Tony placed a hand on the kid's shoulder. "Not everyone's an overblown mega-genius. But you are smart. You are strong, and I don't mean when you go all Glowy Smurf. And hell punk, you're talented, and you're a good stubborn, and despite everything you've gone through in your life, you have one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen a person have."

"Ugh," Andrew groaned and rubbed his hands down his face, a few tears escaping from his eyes. "I hate you."

"Okay, not the reaction I was expecting," Tony spoke more to himself, quirking a brow. "What did I do? I'm being nice!" He said defensively.

"Exactly!" Andrew moved the papers onto the bed and stood. "You're being nice and making me have feels! I don't know where I really expected all this to go, with you letting me live here and everything, but...I've been calling you dad in my head for the past three months," Andrew admitted with an embarrassed laugh at himself. "And when you called me your son that time...it made me... Fuck, is this real? I kinda feel like I don't deserve it, I dunno. You're for real?"

Tony stood and grabbed a gentle hold of Andrew's upper arms. "When I met you, you became my responsibility. Now admittedly, not that great in the beginning, but then I got to know you. You're an amazing kid, Drew. Don't think for a second you're not good enough. And besides, it may not be part of my DNA coursing through your veins, but that repulsor tech _is me_ , and it's a part of you. Even though it wasn't my intention when it happened, I made you. So yeah, I'd say your my kid by default anyway." Tony smirked.

"So this is happening?"A tiny smile of disbelief appeared on Andrew's face for a second. It faulted as worry enveloped his features. "It can really happen? What about my mom? She can't ruin this, can she?"

"Everything's squared away. T's crossed, I's dotted, even those fancy little lines through the Z's. You don't have to associate with that woman ever again if you don't want to. You don't have to worry about not being taken care of or wanted. You being my son, I want that. I'm going to do right by you. Be a better father than my own. And in that vein I want to tell you something he never really said to me." Tony took a small breath, and the words came out easier than he thought they would, "I love you. So, if you want to start easing in to calling me 'dad' out loud, I think that would be more than acceptable. May be weird for the first few days, but I think we can settle into quite nicely." Tony smiled warmly.

Another tear slipped down Andrew's cheek. He quickly wiped it away and opened his mouth to speak but abandoned whatever he was going to say in favor of simply wrapping Tony into a strong hug. Tony readily returned the embrace. He was _not_ a hugger, but this...this he didn't have a problem with.

"Stark," Andrew said, still holding on to Tony tightly. "I want my name to be Andrew Stark."

Tony grinned at the words and pulled away to ruffle Andrew's hair. "It's settled then. Hell hath frozen over: Tony Stark has a son."

"This is insane," Andrew smiled happily.

There was the smallest hint of a glow radiating off the kid that didn't go unnoticed by Tony. The sight of how happy Andrew was made Tony's chest ache in the most beautiful and fulfilling way it ever had in his life. If the man hadn't been over 100% sure before, he was now; this was the right decision. Tony Stark was no believer in fate, but if there was ever a case that made its existence flicker by as a possibility, it was this boy in front of him ending up in his life.

"Wait, so this means I get all your money now when you're dead, right?" Andrew questioned with an impish grin.

Tony laughed, shoving the kid lightly on the shoulder. "Well, at least you're thinking toward the future, smart-ass. Now first order of business, Carmelo's. And second, write you out of the will."


	10. Epilogue: A Moment of Iron Dad

Tony was in his lab, sitting at one of the many workbenches and working on a small project of his that he intended to be part of a present for his now seventeen-year-old. At least Tony was trying to work on it. Happy stood near him prattling off questioning calendar dates that Tony had zero interest in paying attention to.

"I don't know why you're bothering me with these details anyway," Tony said offhandedly as he tinkered with a pair of sleek tech-integrated goggles. "This kind of stuff is Pepper's department. So you know, maybe go bug Pepper?"

"Well, I did talk to Pepper, but she said..." Happy trailed off at the sound of the lab door being opened.

Andrew bounded inside in a pair of board shorts, a sleeveless shirt, and sandals. These days the teen's hair was a lot shorter, but it still always looked like he just rolled out of bed no matter what the time of day.

"Hey, Happy," Andrew greeted the man with smile and a nod.

"Drew," Happy smiled back and the two proceeded with a fist bump that ended in mimed hand explosions.

Tony rolled his eyes at the pair's ritual, but in truth it always amused him.

"Hey dad, so does Happy need to drive me, or can I finally take the car on my own?"

Tony blinked in confusion. "Wait, where do you think you're headed to anyway, mister?"

"Jesse's house? I already asked you about it yesterday. You said it was fine."

"Yeah Tony, you did say it was fine." Happy chimed in with a hint of smarmy matter-of-fact-ness.

Tony shot the man a pointed looked. If he didn't know any better Tony would swear that Happy only got along with the boy and stuck up for Andrew so much as he did just to have little smug moments like this. But Tony vaguely remembered the plans now: Andrew hanging out at one of his little friend's from his homeschoolers group. Tony was pretty sure now that Drew asked him while he was busy with a call; he probably never got many details to begin with.

"Happy can drive you. Trust me, he has nothing better to do." Tony sent the trusted bodyguard a smirk before continuing on with his son. "So what was it again? This a whole gang get together or just the two of you?"

"Just me going over."

"Which one's Jesse?" Tony scratched at the back of his head with a screwdriver in thought. Jesse was either the short girl with her hair dyed purple or the tall blonde boy with the braces. Tony was suddenly struck with the realization that with teenagers also came the crazed horny hormones. Over Tony's dead body was he letting Andrew go if this was _alone time_ with little Miss Punk Rock. "Nevermind, don't care. Just tell me, boy or a girl?"

"What?"

"Is Jesse a boy or a girl?" Tony asked casually, his focus back down on the goggles.

"Why does that matter?" Andrew asked with a touch of indignance.

"It matters." Tony answered flatly, not looking up.

Andrew sighed. "A girl."

"Ha!" Tony sat up straight and spun his chair to face the boy again. "Nope, you're staying home."

"What? Come on! That's not fair! I'm not going over there to have sex with her if that's what you think."

"Ah ah ah ah," Tony tisked, "a little lest 'S' word in my house, please and thank you."

"This is bullshit," Andrew muttered. "Okay, apparently I'm gonna hafta do this right now." Andrew took a resolute breath, "I'm gay."

"I don't believe you for a second." Tony deadpanned.

Andrew groaned loudly in frustration. "Ah! I'm not gonna have sex with her! Even if I wanted to, I'm too terrified to have sex with anyone! Like I'll hurt 'em by accident. I mean, I still can't even jerk off without going blue. So how-"

"Gah! Just go!" Tony covered his ears. "Just sweet Jiminy Cricket, don't mention jerking off to me EVER again."

Andrew grinned, and clapped his hand appreciatively on Tony's shoulder. "Thanks, you're the best. But seriously, I like dudes." He threw a nod to Happy, "I'm just gonna grab my bag and I'll be down in the car."

Andrew practically sprinted out of the lab, and Tony rubbed his hands down his face and groaned. Happy chuckled at his boss's expense from where he stood.

"Guys, girls, or whatever; this just rang alarm bells. All I thought I was in store for was occasional teenage moody drama," Tony admitted as he slouched down in his chair in his unsettled state. "I didn't even think about the sex stuff, and lord knows I was _all_ about the sex stuff at his age. Hm," Tony stroked at his goatee, "I also smoked a lot of pot. He's probably doing that too, isn't he? Making him do this homeschoolers group is going to end up biting me in the ass."

"I'll leave all the worrying about that to you;" Happy spoke, stuffing his Stark Pad into his satchel as he readied to leave, "he's your son."

"Yeah," Tony's eyes drifted to the doorway where Andrew disappeared, and a soft smile easily pulled at his features. "Yeah, he is." 

~~~~~~~~~~~  
A/N: The sequel to come soon! Be on the look out for "Sparks"!


	11. Author's Note

Just a note my lovely readers. I posted the last two chapters at the same time, and I just took a peak at the chapter views and it looks like chapter "Stark" was missed by a lot of you and just the Epilogue was seen. Go back and check out "Stark" if you skipped it by accident —it has _feels_ ;)

...And the start to the sequel should be up soon! :)


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